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Feb 18, 2015

Exploding In Sound Records is one of now many east coast labels specializing in the 90's revival sound. Well, the only things that don't scream, "90's!" about Dirty Dishes is that they happen to be a duo and feature a rather long instrumental song ('Dinner Bell').

Dirty Dishes are a female-lead L.A. band [90's check] who aren't afraid to push songs (5 of 9 here) past five minutes [90's check] and who drench acoustic guitar in reverb [90's check] ('Androgynous Love Song'). Their latest effort, Guilty also includes a song called 'Dan Cortez' which is, of course pronounced exactly as 90's MTV superstar, Dan Cortese.

Trip-hop was created in the 90's. Guilty gets a bit trip-hoppy (drums and keys) on track seven, 'Lackluster', and track nine, 'Sugar Plum Fairies'. Anybody looking for a band to fill voids left by Veruca Salt and Portishead will find a welcome companion in Dirty Dishes. Also, here again, along with a previous 2015 release by a wholly different band, Guilty's cover art might be better than its music. I want to know precisely where that photo was taken.

Cotillon's eponymous debut album is a kind of middle-of-the-road, blue-collar pop record that a band such as, oh...I don't know...Cracker(?) or Guster(?) might make (especially 'Holding You Back'); but not for lack of experimentation.

Producer, Chet "JR" White, bangs a woodblock on album opener, 'Gloom'. Both an organ and plenty of saxophone are employed on the next track, 'Call Me Up'. 'Asteroid' is sort of a blander take on Guided By Voices or The Fall. Poe's 'The Raven' is quoted in 'Should Have Known Better'. '

'Infection' is a 3:40 mess. It starts off as a hammering, angular tune (Sample Lyrics: "I wonder how you could stay so cute and thin. I wonder how many guys you've infected.") and abruptly switches to airy psych, complete with acoustic strumming, at 1:16 (Sample Lyrics: "Be my dream girl. Make me blush. Let's get dressed-up and swallow some drugs. Be my dream girl, just like cocaine."). Ninety seconds later, the song switches back over to drive-mode so someone can work-out a thirty second guitar solo.

'Left Bank' is, by far, the best tune here. Jordan Corso can play some beautiful piano. I don't know why more of that wasn't used on this album. So 'Left Bank' features Corso on airy, clean piano and Raffi Garabedian, the saxophonist, just slightly accenting everything. It's very bright and classy. I only wish all the experiments here paid off as well as 'Left Bank'.

If anyone's running low on skronk, Prettiest Eyes' Looks is as stocked-up as Wal-Mart is with cheap cola. 'Looks' showcases skronk. It seems to be the main ingredient in every tune save 'Not OK', which was probably named as such because they excised the skronk from it.

I'll give Looks credit for a rad cover of The Pretty Things' 'LSD' and a dynamic collaboration with AJ Davila (Davila 666) and Kiani Medina on 'El Huelebicho', which not only boasts some nimble instrumentation but beautifully sung palabras solamente en Espanol tambien. It doesn't get more L.A. than Spanish lyrics. Every L.A. band should find some way to incorporate Latin culture into their music. Prettiest Eyes do right by their home-base.

Prettiest Eyes sound like they're having lots of fun as they simply bash and skronk their way to the finish line. 'Into Oblivion' is also a quirky, paranoid highlight.

Feb 8, 2015

John Webster Johns, aka Jack Name, can be compared to one Richard Swift, aka Onasis, in that they're both collaborator-extraordinaires whose solo output really shines. These sorts of characters occur more in the hip-hop realm. Most hip-hop artists aren't Aspergers-tinged hermits whose work is too precious to be influenced/touched or just don't work well with others.

Name's second album, 'Weird Moons', may as well be named DMT: The Soundtrack. From what I've heard about the effects of that particular compound, the trip is just as warm yet strange as what Name has conjured here. There's a whole convoluted narrative connected to 'Weird Moons', shaping (and shifting) it into a concept album.

Name knows most audiences won't care for a messy story so it's never emphasized over the groovy tunes. There isn't a learning curve or prerequisite here. Any song is as fine an entry-point, especially for fans of early moogs. If anyone has a horrible bias against synthery, I defy them to not be converted by 'Weird Moons' spell. For anyone wary of kooky psych rock, each tune is ultimately anchored by funky bass lines and translate just as well without all the button pushing/knob turning.

I already know that 'Weird Moons' will be my 2015 security psych blanket; an ever-faithful companion through my ever-worsening year.